Friday, December 13, 2013

Today was the day that I wanted to browse the Google Chrome Web Store for applications that could help me publish, and that is when I discovered that I can get free voice dictation software to write my blog post from my Samsung Google Chromebook.

It was really easy to get started with. All you need to do is go to the Google Chrome store in the search box simply type in “dictation”. you will see the app for dictation is the first one listed, and install that one. once it is installed simply go to your apps menu in click on it. When will open up what looks like a legal pad of paper. At the bottom of the virtual paper there are three buttons. The first one says “start dictation”, the next says “clear canvas”, and the third one says “export”. Simply click clear canvas, and then then click Start dictation.

Simply talk clearly, don't mumble your words and you will see that it picks up your words very well on the internal Chromebook microphone. You use your punctuation when you end a sentence by saying the punctuation you wish such as “period”. How to make sure that it does not get confused when you're using punctuation after done with your sentence pause for a half a second and then say the punctuation you wish to use. If you do not use this method you will end up with a lot of dictated words such as “Period” instead of getting an actual period. This can frustrate new users on any voice dictation software not just this one.

Now I never really had a good dictation program on my laptop that was free. I did buy Dragon Dictation for my laptop, but that was expensive and it didn't do that much of a better job than this does and this is free. So if you are looking for a voice dictation solution you have found one for your Samsung Chromebook.

I cannot tell you how much I love this app and in case you were wondering this entire blog post you just read was dictated using this app. I also made a YouTube video about it that you can watch by clicking on the link below. You will see me show you where to find in the web store, how to install it in your Chromebook, and how to properly use the voice dictation on my Samsung Google Chromebook.

Once again I would like to thank you for stopping by in reading about my journey of transitioning from my laptop to using only my Google Chromebook. I am about a week into using my Samsung ARM Chromebook exclusively over my laptop, and I have never been happier. So please subscribe, follow me on Google+, and share this with any social networks you belong too. If you follow me on Google+ give me a shout out about any topics you want me to cover in regards to a Chromebook.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

I have been blogging with my Samsung Chromebook for the last few days and I have not even thought of using my laptop. It is a pure workhorse for me and my productivity has not been this high in months. Well today my oldest two children asked me if they can use my Chromebook for their homework. I told them sure and I was going to turn over my Chromebook to them just to use.

Just before I handed it over to my daughter Abby I told her to hold on a second and I was going to create a profile just for her. She asked me why and I explained to her that it would give her a new Google Drive that she can organize and store all her homework in. She agreed with me that it would be a good idea so that her brother would not be able to see her homework. At the nosey brother comments I just laughed and proceeded to set her up with her own account.

I have tried to set up profiles on Windows PC’s in the past and it always was a bit of a chore. When I tried to do it before I needed to check multiple sources for help and sometimes I still managed to screw it up. With that said I entered this “adding a user” on Chromebook with the expectation that I would mess it up somehow. Well I took a deep breath, and with my daughter watching over my shoulder I was going to attempt to add her as a user.

Putting my faith in Google I clicked on the “Add User” text in the bottom left of the screen. It then asked me to log in with the Google username and password. My daughter did not have one so we clicked on “New User” and filled out the information. Then in a flash she was logged in and ready to do her homework.

Abby went right into Google docs and typed out her homework. She then used Chrome to perform some quick research on the water cycle and finished her homework. In a flash she emailed her teacher and was done. She said thanks, and ran off to watch some TV. I then set my son Tyler up with a profile on my Chromebook and watched him do his homework as well.

Now my Chromebook is not only winning me over as my laptop replacement, but it has won my children over as well. Now I have had it less than a week now and I have to say that my Samsung Chromebook is winning over my entire household. Make sure to check back often to read about my adventures in switching to a Google Chromebook.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Well is now the first day I'm using my Samsung Chromebook to do my online blogging and making Squidoo web pages. This post as you read it is being done from my Samsung Chromebook.

A little history about why I chose to use the Samsung Chromebook is because my computer was on its last leg and I was looking for something different. My laptop battery has been replaced a couple times over the last 2 years and it never really seem to hold a good charge for a long. So even though I was using my laptop, I always end up needing a cord when I get really involved like most bloggers do when writing a detailed peace. Then one day I stumbled across something about the Chromebook and I read the article and it intrigued me.

I started to look into it and the reviews were always mixed. There seems to be two camps when it comes to Chromebook there's people who love the Chromebook and people who hate the Chromebook. I felt that if I could just read about someone using it for everyday blogging, writing, homework in place of their traditional laptop I would have felt much better about my purchase. Well after much internal debate I bought one and decided to make a blog about using my Chromebook in place of my old HP Laptop.

Well I have to say that my first full day using my Chromebook instead of my laptop has been a

complete success . I have done all of my documents in the past on Google Docs and save on Google Drive because I was afraid that any day my old computer would die and I would lose all of my files. Well after turning on the Chromebook for the first time getting into my documents in less than 1 minute was a refreshing change from the old turn it on, go get a soda and wait business from my old laptop. I navigated to Google Documents like a champ and quickly banged out several articles including this one for my blog, and the other for a new Squidoo lens. I was working for at least 2 hours and I was able to do something that I have ever been able to do with my old laptop, and that was not have to rush and look for an outlet to plug my laptop into wall. My little Samsung Chromebook was going strong with no signs of letting up. As a matter of fact the battery was still at 65% with over 4 hours of battery life left to give.This is going to open up new doors for me. I can now blog places I never would have thought of going to before because there was no power outlets to plug into. Well I'm going to chalk up my first day as a wild success. I will continue to post everyday Twilight something new that I've learned about my Chromebook. I will also share any tips and tricks that I figured out along the way. Please share this blog with anyone interested in getting a Chromebook, because it is my goal is to provide a complete inside view 2109 this device is like verses on a laptop. Check back tomorrow I will have my day two of 30 days with a Chromebook ready for you.